I still kind of love the movie Independence Day

I am going to be brief because I promised myself this would be the last distraction from studying that I will indulge today.

We watched some of Independence Day while eating dinner tonight. It came out the summer I started high school, which now was so long ago! It still is THE classic alien-invasion blockbuster. I love the scene where the Americans come up with a plan to disable the alien ships long enough to attack them- they send the word around the world, and then all these ordinary people are rounded up to fly planes and shoot missiles. (We'll just put aside all the technical difficulties of the concept of everyone just... er, shooting around nuclear missiles?!) And the big hero of the day is this crazy alcoholic who sacrifices himself by flying right into the beam of the spaceship.

The older and much more cynical person in me did a lot of snickering, but still, there is a part of me that is nostalgic. It's nostalgic for a time when Americans believed they could lead the world in coming together to fight for the common good, when we weren't reduced to a bickering stallmate over money. When unlikely heros can save the day. When people who think we should not care for the poor or stop citizens of another country from being massacred didn't have the loudest voice. There was once a really noble, idealistic United States, and I miss it. It's completely possible that I just wasn't as aware of things then... but I like to think that we once were bigger than ourselves as a country... and still like to think there could be hope that we could be that country again.

We really need to get it together.

2011 Summer Favorites

In no particular order, here's what I'm enjoying this summer:

• Good Reads
• Super Sad True Love Story
• Picking Cotton
• Room

• Good Patios in Cincinnati:
• Claddagh @ Newport on the Levee
• MOTR Pub
• Neon's
• Chez Nora (rooftop bar!)
• Good Times
• Hyde Park Blast
• Party in the Park

random technology discoveries

Two things rocking my Andriod App world this month:

• Mobile Check Deposit App by Chase. SO. COOL. Especially since the closest Chase ATM is downtown Cincinnati and it's hard to find parking sometimes. Downside, they have a limit on how much you can deposit so I still can't deposit my paycheck.
• Monocle on the Yelp App: Using the monocle function on the Yelp App, you can hold up your camera and the app will show you what restaurants are in whatever direction you are facing, and how far away they are from you. OMG.

platypus water bottle

"What is that?" - friend/family members
"It's a water bottle. But you can reuse it and roll it up when it's empty." -me
"More like a water bag... but that's cool." -friend/family members
"I know." -me

Introducing my new favorite water bottle! The Platypus SoftBottle from Cascade designs. Why would you want this more than a Sigg or Camelbak or whatever generic variety of water bottle is out there? The SoftBottle is cheaper, lighter, BPA-free, and you can roll it up when you are done with it. It's like having the portability of a water bottle that you can roll up and re-use. Cascade also has a few other water bottle designs and hydration systems that are really cool- can be purchased at authorized dealers or online (I got mine at Amazon). You can choose from a variety of sizes and colors.

Infamous Love Songs: A Once in a Lifetime Artistic Experience?

"It’s like a miracle happening in front of your eyes – the music is suddenly alive and three-dimensional." -Linford Detweiler on Infamous Love Songs

It seems unsurprising for a fan of Over the Rhine to say that an artistic collaboration between the band and the Cincinnati ballet would be incredible. Those familiar with the work of Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler know how the couple can create achingly beautiful songs and how they draw even a large audience in to feel like their live performances are uniquely intimate. Adding another dimension to their songs through dance could hardly be a bad idea.

Even knowing all this, the experience of seeing OTR's music paired with ballet was, for the lack of a better word, truly magical. From the moment the curtains part and the band starts playing, it almost seems as though the music has become a living, breathing organism through the dancers. Bergquist's beguiling voice draws you into a world where all music is expressed through the miraculous human movement.

The costuming was simple and modern: while for each of the three sets there was a different overall theme, each dancer had a variant of the same costume. Each costume had a small detail that was unique to the dancer, from neckline to added accessory.

Three wonderful choreographers were able to bring this extra dimension to the music and successfully translated it into a combination between ballet's rigid traditionalism and modern dance's intention imprecision. It's easy to imagine how much the dancers may have enjoyed this departure from the structure of traditional ballet. Their movement was particularly powerful when the whole dance corps was on stage, such as the group that assembled for "Only God Can Save Us Now." Individual dancers would emerge and then be drawn back into the fold.

The only shame is that this enchantingly powerful and moving collaboration was only shared with the public for two days. But perhaps the fleeting nature of the creation makes it all the more unique.